Updated 14 Feb 2024

To be fair, it has a lot of nuance, but here is a simple formula that works:

Step 1 - Do you job very very well. Exceptionally well. Amazingly well.

Step 2 - Start doing your boss’s job, while still doing your job (see Step 1).

That’s it. You can stop reading right here and get on with getting that promotion. If you think you need a little more structure on how to make this happen, read on.

Step 1 has some elements to it.

• Know what your job actually is. We can already see you rolling your eyes. 👀. What do you mean Eclat? Do you think I do not know what my job is? Maybe you do, maybe you don’t. Here’s why.
  Most people think of their job as some form of a list. Do all that and bam, you have done it all. Some create this list from the job description of the position, some from what they have seen others do in that position. We are asking you to expand that scope. A lot.
  Learn to use the phrase ‘what else can I do?’. Just use this one phrase all the time. Use it with your customers, use it with your team, use it with your boss, use it with your colleagues, use it with your suppliers / collaborators, use it with anyone you have any interaction with in your work capacity.
  ‘What else can I do?’

  Remember this phrase. This one will get us through step 2 as well.

  Here is another way to look at this. Your job is not just a list of things to do. It is a list of outcomes. What is expected from your position? What are the quantifiable results that make this position a success?

  • For e.g. One of the tasks of a Duty Manager in a hotel is to check the Registration cards of all guests. Now, you can either think of this as a to-do, or you can think of this in the form of an outcome, a result. The Duty Manager is there to make sure that there are no financial, legal repercussions from an errant Registration card. Think of your job in this way and you will see yourself being seen in a different light from everyone else.

• Ask for feedback. Do not wait for the annual performance appraisal. Feel free to ask anyone who matters if they think you are doing a great job. Ask if you are doing a great job, not just a good job. Ask if you are the best they have ever seen at this job. Ask ‘What else can I do?’

Step 2 builds on step 1

You cannot do Step 2 before fulfilling Step 1. Do not attempt to run, before you can walk. There no short cuts.
Not true. There are some short cuts, but this is not a post of that nature, 🤫, So, what are you to do, once you think and have confirmed from others (those that matter), that you are doing a fabulous job? Ask the question ‘What else can I do?’. (if you tired of hearing this, we want you to feel how others should feel when you approach them).

• Who to ask? Good question, you are already getting the hang of asking questions. Ask your boss. Say ‘hey boss, what can I do, to take away any stress, from you?’, ‘What can I do, that can leave you time and space for you to do higher level work?’, ‘What is it that you do not like to do or would rather not do? Can I do that?’

• Do as much as you can. Do all of it. Yes, for sometime it will feel like you are doing two much! That is two jobs much, there is nothing called too much if you want to grow.

What then you ask? Well, your boss will do the same, hopefully. She will start doing her boss’ job. And even if she doesn’t someone higher up is going to notice that it is indeed you who is doing everything, at a much lower salary.

At this stage, you get what you have been working so hard for, that promotion.

p.s. In case you don’t, there is always another company waiting to offer you the next level. Imagine joining a new company and performing in that role from day zero since you already know what to do. What an amazing outcome.

p.p.s. Get in touch with us whenever you feel you have done enough of this and are still not getting that promotion. What else are we here for? 🙂

Updated 14 Feb 2024

Prajwal wrote in with a very astute observation:

What If I follow step 1 and become very good at my job and my company refuses to promote me because they feel no one else can do this job better than me? What then?

So true! This happens to a lot people. They become so good at what they do, the organisation cannot think of moving them or promoting them, thereby becoming a roadblock to their own growth. So what to do?

Step 2b - Train someone to do your job. Train them well.

So in addition to learning and doing your boss’s job, make sure someone can do yours. Train someone. Make sure you teach them the how, what, when but also teach them the why. Let them observe you, then let them do the task and you can provide feedback. At every step, make sure you are there to guide them.

SODOTO is a good method for this. Read more about SODOTO here.

You will either get promoted, or get paid to do nothing. Either way, you win.